A New Jersey doctor had her license temporarily suspended after being accused of illegally recruiting, concealing and exploiting two undocumented women as house servants for low pay while having them believe they would be arrested and deported if they sought out law enforcement, state officials announced Friday.

Dr. Harsha Sahni, who practices rheumatology in Colonia, pleaded guilty in February to federal criminal charges of conspiracy to conceal and harbor aliens and filing a false tax return in connection with her conduct while harboring two women from India from 2013 to 2021, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said.

Sahni allegedly forced one of the women, who lived in her home in Tinton Falls, to work 15 hours a day, seven days a week. Sahni allegedly would not allow her to receive potentially life-saving treatment for an aneurysm without the woman finding someone to cover her daily duties in Sahni’s home, according to the attorney general's office.

“The criminal exploitation and utter disregard for the well-being of the victims in this case shocks the conscience and violates the most basic principles of medical practice,” Platkin said in a statement. “To protect the public and the integrity of the medical profession, we are securing the temporary suspension of Dr. Sahni’s medical license pending the outcome of these very serious allegations against her.”

Sahni agreed to her temporary license suspension last Wednesday pending the outcome of an administrative action that seeks to revoke her license permanently due to her criminal convictions. The verified complaint was filed with the State Board of Medican Examiners on Aug. 31 and alleges that "Sahni’s crimes, and her actions in perpetrating them, violate professional standards, demonstrate an appalling lack of judgment and moral character, and are of a nature such that her continued licensure would be inconsistent with the public’s health, safety, and welfare," the attorney general's office said, citing the complaint brought forth to the board.

When Sahni pleaded guilty, not only did she admit that she knew the women, harbored them, caused them to believe they would be arrested and deported if they interacted with law enforcement, but she also had them work as housekeepers with a low pay than what they would have earned if she employed the women legally. Additionally, Sahni admitted that she instructed the women to tell immigration officials that they were her family members touring the United States.

Additionally, Sahni admitted that she did not pay taxes related to the women's labor and did not disclose the labor performed by them on her personal income tax return.

The verified complaint and other documents related to this case, allege that Sahni required one of the women who lived at her home, identified as Victim-1 in documents, to work from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. for about $240 to $600 a month, which Sahni paid to the woman's family in India.

State prosecutors say that Sahni also defrauded a number of entities to provide free, or at a reduced price, medical care to this woman, including in 2016, when Sahni falsely claimed that the woman had been abused by her husband in order to scam a domestic violence charity into providing the woman with $6,000 worth of free dental treatment.

Prosecutors also allege that Sahni prevented this woman from receiving treatment for a life-threatening brain aneurysm by not allowing her to see a doctor when her constant headaches following a car accident in 2014 worsened, instead treating the severe headaches with Tylenol and other pain medication until 2021. When Sahni finally took the woman to an emergency room, she allegedly falsely presented herself as the woman's sister and served as her translator, given that the woman did not known how to read, speak or write English.

Following a CT scan, doctors revealed an unruptured aneurysm in her brain and advised immediate surgery because failure to do so could lead to her death, prosecutors say, adding that Sahni instead encouraged the woman to leave the hospital against medical advice and once home required her to work the rest of the evening.

The criminal exploitation and utter disregard for the well-being of the victims in this case shocks the conscience and violates the most basic principles of medical practice

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin

The following day, Sahni allegedly took Victim-1 for a follow-up exam at JFK University Medical Center’s Neuroscience Institute, where neurosurgeons said that because of the size of the aneurysm there was a 1-in-5 chance that it would rupture and the woman could die. Sahni subsequently received a Neurological Consultation letter with the medical status of the woman detailing the “high mortality” risk if the aneurysm was not treated, prosecutors say.

According to the state attorney general's office, despite these findings, Sahni allegedly continued to advise the woman to not undergo surgery while making her complete her household workload. After speaking with family members in India, the woman said she wanted to move forward with the surgery, but Sahni allegedly told her she could not undergo surgery until she found a replacement to cover her daily duties in Sahni’s home. According to the State, there is no evidence in Victim-1’s medical record that Sahni ever took her for treatment or scheduled the surgery before to law enforcement removed the woman from Sahni’s home.

Sahni’s criminal sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 5. She faces up to 30 months in federal prison. As a part of the plea deal, Sahni will pay the victims a combined $642,212 and will pay up to $200,000 towards the treatment of the brain aneurysm of one of her victims, the state's attorney general said. Sahni will also pay restitution to the IRS. 

Attorney information for Sahni was not immediately available.